This story was originally a Blog post on the Hillsides website: Suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people ages 15-24. The increase in suicides is alarming and warrants consideration as an epidemic. Children living in foster care and those identifying as LGBTQ…

Sometime in late 1978, my mother shared with me an experience she had with the Aloe vera plant. My mother, Marie, was a Registered Nurse who worked at a Pasadena retirement home as the staff nurse. About three months earlier, a housekeeper who lived on-site at the retirement home began to break out in a hive-like rash that caused her to itch constantly. The cause was said to be a nervous condition. The patient’s thighs, back, arms, shoulders, and neck all broke out in this rash, which the patient described as “burning like fire.” My mother offered to apply the…